TurnKey Rolls Out Ability to Video Visit via Cell Phones

June 5, 2012 - PRLog -- Starting this past weekend, TurnKey Corrections, a leader in technology for correctional facilities, rolled out their latest enhancement to their rapidly growing video visitation business.  Now, any friend or family member with a smart phone can go to the Google Droid Market (now known as Play Store), and download the TurnKey Corrections Video Visitation application.  Within minutes, a user can be video visiting their incarcerated loved ones right from their cell phone.

"This opens many many windows of visitation for friends and family members" noted TurnKey General Sales Manager, Patrick McMullan.  "Even with the ability to visit from outside the jail now through our system, schedules can clog up that make even off-site visitation difficult.  But with this app, any time someone has 15 minutes, they can visit from a coffee shop, on break at work, in between classes at school ... you name it, this changes everything."

Existing TurnKey visitation users do not have to do anything different to use this new feature.  Once they download the app from the Google Play Store Market, they log in and following the same simple and short process to connect with their desired inmate.  As long as they have a forward facing camera on their phone, their visit experience will be nearly exactly the same as they have currently.  "We expect this enhancement to increase our off-site visitation traffic 20% based upon testing we did at select facilities" noted TurnKey General Manager Todd Westby.  "And at $0.35 per minute for family or friends, which is a fraction of what our competitors are offering, and little or no upfront cost for installation, we have the superior solution for facilities and familiy/friends of inmates" noted Westby.

Visitors can still be screened and approved by the jail administration prior to visits commencing.  TurnKey recently upgraded its' approval process to where now facilities can require visitors to take a photo of both themselves and their government issued ID using a simple process right on the TurnKey website, www.inmatecanteen.com.  This allows facilities now to have not only all visits recorded, but all the information they need to ensure that inmates are not violating do-not-contact orders and other types of restrictions.  And all visits are connected with no effort from jail staff.  The system is 100% automated from start to end of the call.  And inmates use the same kiosk for all of TurnKey features.  "Rather than having multiple kiosks on the wall for the many services inmates need, our kiosk handles it all" added McMullan.

The TurnKey video visitation system is now in use in 8 states and nearly 50% of its' facilities.  TurnKey, based just outside the Twin Cities in Hudson, WI, has facilities in 15 states.  In addition to video visitation, TurnKey offers an ala-carte menu of services to facilities including commissary, trust accounting, debit release cards, music, messaging and more.  Started as a commissary provider in the late 90's, TurnKey now owns every aspect of its' technology.  Coupled with that, TurnKey also owns the product distribution channel through its' subsidiary, American Institutional Supply (www.amerisup.com) and has several patents and copyrights active or pending on its' technology.  To learn more about TurnKey, contact Patrick via email at patrick@turnkeycorrections.com or by calling (612)267-8277.